GSA preps replacement for Networx

The General Services Administration is getting an early start on the follow-on to the huge Networx telecommunications contract.

Though still in the thick of the transition from FTS-2001 to Networx, GSA wants to know what Networx replacement should look like.

Karl Krumbholz, director of GSA’s Network Services Program, said at a May 19 Association for Federal Information Resource Management luncheon that his office is “charging ahead on transition” and that there will be new contracts in place in the next month or so. He also mentioned a new GSA network services program named Network Services 2020 that began earlier this year.

The Networx contract is a governmentwide telecommunications contract held by AT&T, Verizon, Level 3, Sprint and Qwest Communications. They are vying for task orders under the 10-year, $68 billion contract. But the transition from the FTS-2001 contract has lagged and is still not complete.

In preparation for Networx replacement, GSA developed a series of questions to ask the Interagency Management Council and other stakeholders on how to improve Networx and other network services offerings, he said. 

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According to a Feb. 25 blog entry written by Krumbholz, the questions included:

• What do you consider the most valuable attributes of the Networx program and services? 
• What areas are most in need of improvement? 
• How could GSA improve Networx service delivery?

In addition, Krumbholz said at the AFFIRM event that GSA asked Deloitte to put together a report on the responses to these questions. The information from the report will be used to create requirements, he added.

Patricia Waddell, deputy director of IT Schedule Programs, told the audience that her goal for Schedule 70 – the main information technology vehicle in the GSA Schedules program – is to improve its visibility and reach. Her office is working on a new contract guide to explain the program, which will be published in July.

Further, she said that her office is working to improve customer service by answering telephone inquiries from customers and established a call center in January to do so.

Waddell also said she is also working on a strategic plan and considering whether “our business model needs to change a little bit. That’s important in terms of the longevity of our program.”